CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Sisters of Mary-Boystown earned their biggest win to date, stunning the Don Bosco Greywolves, 44-28, to grab a seat in the finals of the Under-18 Division 1 of the Cebu Youth Basketball League (CYBL) 3rd Conference 2018-19 on Sunday, March 10, 2019 at the Ateneo de Cebu basketball courts along Mango Avenue in Cebu City.
C-Jay Gonzales led the way for SMS-Boystown with 14 points spiked by four three-point shots while Mark Vargas put up 13 markers.
SMS-Boystown took control of the game as early as the first period where they led 15-2 and never let up until the final buzzer. This is the team’s biggest win so far after winning the Minglanilla Municipal Meet.
SMS-Boystown, however, has a daunting opponent in front of them in the SHS-Ateneo de Cebu, which is coming off a 38-28 win over the recently-crowned NBTC Cebu champions, Southwestern University-Phinma last Saturday.
In the Under-12 semis, the University of the Visayas and the Ateneo de Cebu forged another finals showdown after they ousted their respective opponents.
UV blew away Don Bosco, 80-24, with Kenneth Cole and Reezzan Gonzaga putting up 21 and 16 points, respectively. The game started off close with UV clinging to a 12-10 lead after the first. However, the tide turned in a huge way come the second where UV uncorked a 35-2 run that established a 47-12 halftime lead, which all but settled the game’s outcome.
Ateneo de Cebu, on the other hand, came from behind and took down SMS-Boystown, 37-26, in the other semis pairing.
After going scoreless in the first and trailing by six, 11-17 at halftime, Ateneo de Cebu tightened up their defense and held their opponents without a single point in the third while putting up 15 of their own to grab the upper hand and eventually carve out the victory.
This is the fourth tournament in a row that the two rivals are meeting in the finals after the SBP Passerelle Finals in August of last year, the CYBL Summer League and the CYBL 3rd Conference.| dbs